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Tag Archives: British butterflies

The chocolate butterfly

05 Tuesday Jul 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Aphantopus hyperantus, British butterflies, butterfly, Ringlet

What’s not to love about a butterfly whose colour is described as chocolate … except that you can’t eat it.

220705 ringlet (1)

Its rich brown colour enables the Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) to warm itself more quickly than light-coloured butterflies, which means it can be seen bobbing its way through the long grass even on overcast days.

220705 ringlet (2)

The Ringlet is named for the marks on its underwings, the circles of white, black and caramel, which can vary considerably in size and shape.

220705 ringlet (3)

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Commas, again

30 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Comma butterfly, Comma caterpillar, Comma larva

I saw my first Comma butterfly on 18 March and continued to spot them quite regularly until the end of April, by which time they were looking increasingly tatty. Although the adults then died off, the next generation was underway, and I saw my first ever Comma caterpillars on two consecutive days in mid May. Now, the pristine adults have begun to appear, floating along the hedgerows and woodland rides, trying very hard to convince me they’re really Silver-washed fritillaries. Their vibrant orange-and-black patterning is a joy to behold.

220630 comma

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Skippers, small but few

27 Monday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, skipper butterflies, skipper populations, Small skipper

First spotted locally on 15 June, Small skippers are now appearing in greater quantities though, from my observations, both Large and Small skipper numbers are well down on recent years. This may well be climate related but it’s also environmental. In two of the local areas I have previously seen skippers in abundance, humans have been tinkering. In one case, the edges of a field were cut back much more than in previous years, with grassy edges cut to the dirt and the scrub- and bramble-edged hedgerows heavily flailed. And in the other location, an old meadow, the long grasses were cut but the trimmings left to rot, a community orchard was planted where wildflowers and waxcap fungi previously thrived and, once again, the bramble-and-scrub edges have recently been decimated, despite this being bird-nesting season The good news is that I’ve found another good skipper field though, unfortunately, it has been earmarked for a housing development by the Welsh government (though locals are fighting to preserve their green fields). I fear for our butterflies, such vulnerable little creatures in an increasingly hostile world.

220627 small skipper

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Small heath

20 Monday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Aberbargoed Grasslands, British butterflies, butterfly, Coenonympha pamphilus, Small heath

As well as the Heath spotted-orchids pictured in yesterday’s blog and the Small pearl-bordered fritillaries featured last Thursday, another of the stars of the Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR is the Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus). Fortunately, this lovely little butterfly has adapted to life in a wide variety of habitats, not just damp grasslands, so, although it is still classed as vulnerable in the most recent conservation status report released last month by Butterfly Conservation, it is in a much better position to cope with environmental changes that those butterflies that require more specialised habitats.

220620 small heath

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Pearls in the grass

16 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Aberbargoed Grasslands, Boloria selene, British butterflies, butterfly, fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

I can’t think of a nicer way to spend a day than to enjoy a lovely catch up with my friend Shar while wandering around a grasslands reserve looking for butterflies. Having a second pair of sharp eyes was also a bonus as the weather was quite dull, the butterflies few and mostly inactive. Still, we managed some good close sightings of Small pearl-bordered fritillaries (Boloria selene), a butterfly that thrives in the damp grassland habitat of Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR and, though one of the reserve’s largest fields was burnt recently, there are promising signs that both the violets required for this butterfly’s larvae and the thistles, bramble and bugle that provide food for the adults have survived the fire. Let’s hope both the plants and the butterflies bounce back from what could so easily have been a truly tragic event.

220616 small pearl-bordered fritillary

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The fluttering browns

14 Tuesday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Maniola jurtina, Meadow Brown, meadow butterfly

Weaving their way amongst the long grasses, fluttering delicately up and down, meandering through the meadows – the Meadow browns are out and about.

220614 meadow brown

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Cheeky little flitters

10 Friday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Large skipper, Large skipper butterfly, Skippers

The skippers are here! I spotted my first Large skipper of the year on Wednesday 1 June but that butterfly flitted quickly past a couple of times before disappearing, seemingly by magic, and it wasn’t until last Friday, a hot sunny day, that more skippers appeared. On that day’s walk I saw six in total, in four different locations, and the cheeky little flitters even posed obligingly for photographs.

220610 large skipper (1)

Of course, they weren’t actually posing for me. Male Large skippers like to find themselves a perch from which to survey their domain and keep a look out for any passing females. Even after flitting up to scare other males off their patch or to follow females in the hopes of mating, they will still return to their chosen perch. So, if you’re having trouble getting a good look at these glorious golden butterflies or taking their photographs, it can be a good idea to just stand still and watch a while until you work out their perching spot.

220610 large skipper (2)

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A hatching

07 Tuesday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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British butterflies, butterfly egg, Holly blue, Holly blue egg, Holly blue larva

Remember A Holly blue and her egg, my post on 24 May? Well, the egg has now hatched and I’ve had my first glimpses of the larva, so incredibly tiny that, with my poor eyesight, I had to take some macro photographs and look at those to be sure of what I was seeing – spot the hairy larva in the photo on the right below.

220607 holly blue egg and larva

These images were taken one day apart, so the larva can have been no more than 24 hours old at this stage. In his essential publication Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies, author Peter Eeles writes: ‘The larva starts to feed by burying its head deep into the bud on which the egg was laid’. This is the first of four stages the larva goes through before it pupates, so I’ll be checking back regularly to try to monitor its progress.

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Small copper and friend

03 Friday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, British leafhoppers, butterfly, leafhopper, Small copper

A moment of miniscule magic! I found this Small copper perched, waiting for the sun to come out, and then a leafhopper (yet to be identified) decided the butterfly was a good place to perch.

220603 small copper and leafhopper (1)
220603 small copper and leafhopper (2)

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An illegal introduction

26 Thursday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Marsh fritillary

I’ve seen my first Marsh fritillaries of the year, always a magical moment, except this year that magic was dulled somewhat by the fact that these particular butterflies in this particular location have obviously been introduced illegally, possibly as eggs or as larvae.

220526 illegal marsh fritillary introduction (1)

Expert opinion is that the site is too far from known populations of Marsh fritillary to have occurred naturally and, sadly for the butterflies (at least three individuals have been identified), the site does not have enough of the right habitat, so it is highly unlikely they will survive. (You can read more on the laws that apply to butterflies, including the Marsh fritillary, a fully protected species, on the UK Butterflies website.)

220526 illegal marsh fritillary introduction (2)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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  • The chocolate butterfly July 5, 2022
  • Leafmines: Liriomyza eupatorii July 4, 2022
  • Oxeyes and friends July 3, 2022
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